Mammone’s argument is captured in capsule form here: “Every skill set required to form a startup should be subjected to a make-or-buy decision process. In other words, if you don’t have it, outsource it. Let me just stop here for a moment and mention that outsourcing is the strategic entrepreneur’s solution to most problems.”

Outsourcing is a great strategy. In fact, outsourcing is a fundamental component of every business strategy. Outsourcing decisions reflect the fundamental values of the organization.

However, people may think that outsourcing gets you off the hook and solves all of the problems involved in the outsourced functions. The truth is that whether as a one armed paper hanger or a global giant like Boeing, outsourcing must be managed.   You can not manage functions that you do not understand. So, the executive level of any organization (back to the single entrepreneur to global giant span) must understand all of the basic functions of a business (strategy, sales, marketing, product/service development, personnel, operations, finance, information systems, and legal (these are the most important ones)) in order to decide which must be internal and which can be outsourced. Then, you have to have enough knowledge of the outsourced functions to decide on the desired results required, choose vendors, and manage for the results. This may seem to be daunting for the low end of the size scale, but most of this stuff isn’t rocket science at the basic concepts level and one can always draw on people in your network and consultants (like me obviously) to help out.

Outsourcing is tricky business as demonstrated by Boeing’s Dreamliner problems^[[2]]

1. Since Mammone’s article may not always be accessible where I found it, you can download a PDF copy here
2. here is a link to an article from Reuters about Boeing’s outsourcing issues. And here is a PDF download of the article.

For the last six years Mark Orton has focused on hands-on work with owners and leaders of start-up and small businesses. He applies strong active listening with useful questions and appropriate data to help leaders find the best path through the maze of opportunities, risks, and the occasional disastrous bright idea. Then, Mark works to develop a concrete list of tasks that the leader must accomplish to push his business toward the goals. Ongoing work focuses on getting the right things done and refocusing as the situation develops.

Somewhat to his surprise, Mark has learned that short teleconferences are the best, most effective way to work with his clients. They can be scheduled easily. They are long enough to have immediate impact, but brief enough not to disrupt. With the addition of shared documents over the Web, in-depth discussions are facilitated. Good tracking of tasks and results are also easily accomplished. Regular teleconferences provide business leaders with an ongoing business conversation with seasoned entrepreneur manager. This assures ongoing accountability for creating real results through a focused approach to the few key tasks that the leader can undertake to move the organization forward.

As these coaching practices have evolved, a mixed mode approach combining occasional face-to-face meetings, quarterly performance reviews are a good example.

Mark has over twenty five years of senior management experience in manufacturing, software and consulting. Over the past ten years Mark has consulted to very small firms as well as Fortune 100 firms. This includes lean manufacturing and lean enterprise training and projects for a premier aerospace firm’s suppliers.

His work in manufacturing extends from early experiences as machinist and design engineer to senior management positions in plant management, marketing, customer service, and product development. Most of this experience was at Augat, Inc., a Fortune 500 electronic component manufacturer with $1.2 billion sales (now part of Tyco, Inc.). This included being the General Manager of a manufacturing plant with sales of $95 million and Marketing Manager for a division with sales of $450 million.

In 2000, Mark Orton co-founded Valuedge, Inc., a software company providing web-based supplier performance assessment software and services to manufacturers, including The Boeing Company, and strategic sourcing vendors. Valuedge was purchased in November 2004 by Emptoris, Inc.

Since moving to Hudson NY in 2009, Mark has co-founded an art gallery, Davis Orton Gallery,  and supports the local library as Vice President of the Board Trustees of the Hudson Area Library.